Falling Through The Clouds
by Black Ice and Blood Rain
Summary: He murmured, “I want you to rule the skies with me.” Only a whimper was her reply; he had her racked with so much pleasure, she knew that she would've done anything he said, as long as he kept making her feel so good...Inuyasha/Kagome. VERY explicit...
1. Chapter 1

Summary: He murmured, "I want you to rule the skies with me." Only a whimper was her reply; he had her racked with so much pleasure, she knew that she would've done anything he said, as long as he kept making her feel so good...

* * *

Black Ice: Ugh. I hate myself.

Blood Rain: This actually was intended to be an original fic set in ancient Greece, with all sorts of awesome ancient Greek names and characters and everything... But ever since we got back into the swing of things, we decided that this would be a perfect fanfic. The reason Ice hates herself is that she's trying to get out of fanfiction and get into originality. This doesn't help. At all.

Black Ice: Neither are you! Shut up, Rain!

* * *

Even though it was rather late in the day, the sun remained a murky red and the clouds purple and yellow, bathing the skies and the world beneath them in an eerie, dim light.

Since Kouga, the god of speed, took over the skies and took power from Inuyasha, the night god and previous ruler, the sky had been like this, and who suffered? Certainly not the deities on high, but rather, the humans on earth. Because of the sunlight deficiency, very few plants or crops had grown, threatening many agricultural societies, and predators ran rampant, unhindered by the borderline darkness.

In a large girls' academy on the island of Hokkaido, Kagome stared at this sky. It was as though something inside of her yearned for difference; as though she knew this was not right somehow...but what could she do? For the entirety of her nineteen years, this was the only thing she'd known, this sky.

"Exactly how long do you plan to stare out of the window, Kagome?" The cool voice of the headmistress, Kaede, startled her. She whirled around, her face red with embarrassment at being caught shirking her duties.

"My sincerest apologies, Headmistress..." Kagome mumbled.

"Keep them for someone who cares." Hagen pursed her lips, staring coolly down her nose at Kagome.

In her eyes—in all of their eyes, Kagome was nothing but orphan trash. This school was located in Honshu, whereas Kagome had the looks and accent of her dead Ainu parents. "Why are you not washing clothes, as I ordered you?"

"I...have not yet gathered the water to be boiled, Headmistress Kaede." Kagome said timidly, shuffling her feet.

"And why is that?" Her condescending tone was even colder than the weather.

"Ice falls from the sky, madam...the streams are frozen." It was like a bolt of lightning, the force with which Kaede struck her.

"Moronic twit." She scoffed, disgusted. "What is to stop you from collecting the hail in a tub and bringing it back to melt over a fire?"

"I hadn't thought o—"

"That is because you don't think. Sesshoumaru didn't freeze the rain for nothing, fool. Now go!" Face burning with embarrassment and pain as the other girls snickered, Kagome grabbed the large metal washtub at her feet and dashed out of the commons area.

Her stride slowed as she went down five spiraling staircases, until she reached the entrance room. The young students were huddled around a fire, wrapped in blankets and chattering away, and as soon as Kagome opened the door, the girls protested rather loudly.

"Close the door, Kagome!"

"What are you, stupid?!"

"It's cold, you halfwit!" Kagome ignored them, delaying her departure as long as possible. When she finally closed the door back, she was annoyed to see that Sesshoumaru—the god of weather, particularly _cold _weather—had ceased the hail, and this time, Kagome dared not return without a full container of something, and much to her disappointment, her bladder was too empty to take back what she thought they deserved. So with a sigh, she walked to the stream, quite a distance away.

Why did the Honshuans hate her, or rather, her people? Simple. A very long time ago, Honshuans were a skeptical bunch, refusing to believe in the gods, and instead chose the path of atheism. For this reasons, terrible punishments befell their lands: unbearable weather, relentless animal attacks, failing crops—anything you could think of.

Not far away lived the Hokkaidans, a very opposite society who respected and honored the gods where it was due. The celestial ruler of that time was a wind goddess named Ayame, a beautiful woman with pointed ears, bright green eyes, and a perfect bronze complexion that mirrored that of Akakaji, the goddess of the sun.

She liked and admired the people of Hakodate for their unfailing piety, and thus developed them in her likeness, as well as made their land a prosperous and wealthy one.

Though they envied the Hokkaidans for their "luckiness", Honshu followed the Hokkaidan example, feeling that they didn't deserve Ayame' blessings nearly as much. It took many decades, but their misfortune was eventually lifted, though they never quite attained Hakodate's successfulness.

Thus, the Honshuans' hate progressed throughout many years and five different deities, fueled for two reasons: they were unable to declare war, a futile attempt since the gods always favored Hokkaidans; the other was that weapon suppliers in Honshu saw no reason to forge new weapons against a society that had never threatened Honshu in any way. Such was the Hokkaidan way: mind one's own affairs and there shall be none to speak of.

Kagome idly touched the tips of her ears, thinking on the other girls and their rounded ones. These ears, as well as her different appearance, commonly made her the object of their scorn. They often teased her about her longer hair ("centaur") and slightly sharper teeth ("vampire"), and it saddened her sometimes that she didn't quite fit in this Honshuan society.

With a small grunt, she got down to her knees before the frozen-over stream, flipping her long brown hair out of her face. She had to figure out a way to chip this ice effectively enough to appease Kaede...before she froze to death, anyway.

As Kagome mused, her eyes drifted over to the opposite side of the stream, where, if she wasn't mistaken, it actually looked darker as the forest began.

She stared at that orange spot, trying to see deeper into the forest without getting up and actually moving, but despite her traditional Hokkaidan curiosity, she was "balanced out" with inbred short-sightedness.

"Hm." She pouted, disgruntled, and turned back to the ice, but her mind couldn't fully concentrate on this task, primarily concerned with that abnormal orange perverting Kouga's yellow environment.

Growling slightly, Kagome forced it out of her mind, just as another idea wormed its way in. Hoping she wouldn't break or bend the tub, she banged it against the moderately thin ice, smiling brightly when the cold water below was revealed.

She dipped the pot in, feeling excited—not because she'd fulfilled Kaede's command and "finally done something right for once", as the irritable witch might say, but because somehow, she was of the idea that now that she had, she could investigate that orange light. She was so excited, in fact, that she barely noticed the cuts inflicted on the backs of her hands by the jagged ice as she set the filled tub on the ground.

Carefully, she moved towards the orange, moving through it when she saw that there was no danger in it. As she walked, she realized that she was traveling through a steadily darkening color spectrum; from the natural murky yellow, to orange, to brown, and now to the red she was warily traveling through. Her race were notably superstitious, but even skeptics knew that red symbolized death, and the misty crimson surrounding her wasn't doing much to appease her fear.

Kagome wanted to turn back, but she could no longer see brown, too deep into the red, so she could only move forward. Kagome stopped when only pure blackness was ahead, punctuated by two sharp lights. A conversation seemed to be taking place; Kagome hid behind a red tree, squinting into the darkness.

"This is unnatural, Inuyasha." The voice was soft and feminine, and appeared to be coming from a rather statuesque woman who seemed to be glowing a calm ivory.

_Actually_, Kagome thought to herself, knowing she'd recognized this woman somewhere, _I think I __**have **__seen her from a statue! _It was true: in her youth, she'd gone to temples in which this very woman had been immortalized within stone. But Kagome couldn't, for the life of her, remember this woman's name...

A short distance away from her was a somewhat dimly illuminated man, who said in a lilting, yet still masculine, voice, "Kikyou is right. Miroku refuses to do anything about the horrid state of things, and the days are passing by far too quickly for _my_ liking."

Kagome was stricken dumb, staring agape at these people. Kikyou, the goddess of the moon? Miroku, the god of the sun? Could it be that she was actually witnessing a conversation between _deities_?

Her heart hammered in her chest. She would've turned back, knowing this had to be disrespectful in some way, but she couldn't find her way to the lighter colors, and she was afraid to go blindly. Taking a silent, deep breath, Kagome just watched on.

"There's nothing I can do." Another man, who the further flabbergasted Kagome could only realize was the god of night himself, murmured. Indeed, now that she looked more closely, she could see his form sitting against what seemed to be a tree.

Now she _really _felt she shouldn't be there, but now she was captivated by the scene unfolding before her.

"So that's it? You're just giving up? You'll let the world fall to pieces at Kouga's hands?" The younger male remarked a bit hotly.

"Shippou..." Kikyou shook her bright head, placing a hand on the irritated star god's shoulder. "Let's leave him be." Shippou started to protest, but then seemed to think better of it. Kikyou kneeled down and held Inuyasha's chin in her hand.

"Don't be so downhearted, love. We'll find a way." Inuyasha made a noncommittal sigh, and in a flash of light, Kikyou and Shippou were gone.

_Now _it's time to go, Kagome thought, as the different colors began to fade back into yellow, and as soon as she could see a clear path back to the stream, she ran as though she were Kouga himself, with devils nipping at her heels.

Once she had the tub back in her possession, she had to walk, but she did so rather briskly, sweating a bit. She felt guilty, as though she'd been eavesdropping on something she shouldn't've been seeing, but adrenaline raced through her veins.

She'd just seen not one, not two, but _three _different deities! With her own eyes! She almost wished she could tell someone, but those snobby academy girls would just sneer at her and write what she'd seen off as imbecile fantasy or something.

These were the moments in which she sorely missed her mother. _They _would've believed her, and quite avidly, to boot; Kagome knew that Honshuans had nothing but fake faith, worshipping gods they didn't even think existed, and Kouga barely cared. Kagome knew the stories about him: Kouga was a young, arrogant braggart who was frequented Earth in search of maidens to deflower.

Few other gods liked his constant absence from the skies, feeling that he wasn't correctly fulfilling his duties, but what could they do? Oh, they could challenge him for the metaphorical throne atop the clouds, but because he was the champion of the world, they had to challenge him on _his _terms. Him being the god of speed, it wasn't hard to guess what those terms were.

Kagome took the servant's entrance back into the school building, and wormed her way through the narrow hallway, which led to the washroom. The tub of water—now solid ice from being left out for so long—slipped from Kagome's grasp when she saw that no fire was burning. The stone room was ice-cold, as always, but what irked her is that she had at least assumed Kaede would have another of the maidservants get a fire going.

One of them, a haughty girl named Yumi, came into the room, and Kagome rounded on her immediately.

"Yumi, why didn't someone start a fire?" The girl stared scornfully at Kagome, as though she'd spoken a different language, and retorted coolly, "Isn't that _your _job?"

"What?! I got the water! Someone else could have had the fire going while I was gone!"

"Water for _what_, pray tell?" Yumi gave a long-suffering sigh that made Kagome want to yank out every strand of her annoying black hair.

"Water for the laundering," Kagome enunciated, her grating teeth muffling the words somewhat. A small smirk lit Yumi's pretty face, and Kagome almost instantly knew what had happened.

"Oh, you took _entirely _too long," Yumi said dramatically, "so the headmistress had Juniko do it." The emotions running through Kagome at that moment all but pushed the previous events from her mind. She was half-tempted to attack Yumi, but that would more than likely mean she'd be thrown out, and there was nowhere else for Kagome to go. She was hanging by a thread as is, and she suspected she was only kept around to be ridiculed.

"Okay...so what am I to do with this water?" Kagome forced herself to say.

"I don't know. Why don't you thaw it out and bathe in it? I don't see how you could possibly get any dirtier than you already are." Yumi's cackling laughter as she left was like poison-tipped darts being shot into Kagome's very soul. _That_ one had hurt.

She dragged her feet out of the room and up the stone stairs from the ground floor, to a long, carpeted hallway. There was no one else around. Kagome opened the door to a small closet in which there was no light, except for the dark yellow of Kouga's unnatural night filtered in through the grimy window.

"Unnatural". That was what Kikyou called it. And Shippou had said "the days were too long" for his liking. But why? Had Kouga changed the way of things so that the younger generations would believe _this _to be natural?

Things weren't making much sense to her anymore.

* * *

Black Ice: (flatly) I hope this made enough sense. I was mainly doing a lot of finding-and-replacing to change the names and places. If not, oh, well.


	2. Chapter 2

The smell of smoke was what awoke Kagome that next day. This startled her, considering the fact that the room wasn't murky or foggy, and her eyes weren't burning, as they so often did at the first sign of smoke. Feeling that her nose might be a little discombobulated, Kagome waited a few more moments to fully awaken, then sniffed the air again, more carefully this time. It was gone.

_Must have imagined it_, she thought, and opened the door. Perhaps she could listen in on the French lesson taught by Mademoiselle Desmarais...

As she went down the stairs, she heard voices coming from the entrance room. She perked up her ears, listening.

"Might an old woman get perhaps a bite of bread? Maybe a sip of water? I'm terribly cold, you see...I've been traveling in this weather for quite some time." That was an Ainu accent. Kagome had to stifle a shocked gasp, and crept further down the stairs to see this old woman. Unfortunately, she had on a hood and cloak, but the contempt on the face of Chisato, the haughty maid who'd open the door, was plain as day.

"Aw, that's too bad." She sneered in her high, whiny voice. "But it's also too bad that we have no more food left."

"You lie, child. The spirits tell me so."

"Is that so? Then perhaps you should get food from _them_." Callously, Chisato slammed the door in the woman's face, then headed up the stairs, Kagome's way.

"Move it, ugly." Chisato huffed rudely, shoving Kagome to the side. Narrowing her eyes, she held out her leg, making Chisato stumble and nearly fall.

"Better be careful, Chisato." Kagome said sweetly. "It's not very ladylike to trip _up _stairs, is it?"

"It's not as though _you _would know anything about being ladylike, Kagome!" Chisato fumed, continuing on her way.

"Stupid girl." Kagome mumbled and went down into the kitchen. Sango, the young cook, was humming as she cleaned up the kitchen. "Sango?"

"Hmm? Oh, hello, Kagome." Sango smiled. "What brings you here? The headmistress obviously hasn't seen you yet, or she would have you up to your eyes in housework." Kagome giggled.

"That she would." Of all the girls in the academy, Kagome liked Sango best. Being of Ainu ancestry herself, Sango was much nicer to Kagome, and much more tolerable, by strides. "Actually, you're right, she hasn't seen me yet, but Chisato just refused an old woman some food. I should like to take pity on her and maybe give her a piece of cheese or an apple."

"I'll do you one better." Sango paused in her cleaning to grab the food from the cupboard and handed it to Kagome with a smile. "Here you go, Kag."

"Thanks, San." Kagome left with the cheese and apple and looked around for the old woman. She was startled to see her right in front of her face.

"Hello, child. The spirits told me you would come...and I see that you brought food as well." The stout woman grinned up at Kagome, who smiled back. "But there is something you must know before I eat the food you most generously provided me."

"I know you're Ainu, ma'am." Kagome waved her off, and the woman's grin only widened.

"That's not it..." She removed her cloak, and Kagome gasped, backing away in shock. The old woman had disappeared, and in her place stood a muscular male centaur, flashing her a handsome smirk.

"Remember me?"

"...My God...Bankoutsu, is it you?!"

"Exactly how many centaurs do you meet in a lifetime?"

"Bankoutsu!" Kagome squealed happily, leaping up into his arms. "I haven't seen you since we were children!"

"I know."

"What _happened _to you?! I thought you...you know." Bankoutsu snorted, letting Kagome go.

"You know it would take much more than that to kill _me_."

"What was the reason for the disguise?" Kagome asked, excited to be reacquainted with her old battling buddy. "Did you know I was there?"

"No, that was just luck. I've been moving from place to place, asking for some food. Winter takes a real toll on you when you don't have anywhere to live."

"Oh, Bankoutsu..." Kagome murmured sympathetically, stroking his long mane. Here she was, complaining about life at the academy, when at least she had somewhere to live. Bankoutsu was virtually homeless.

"I built a fire not too long ago for myself. I'd spent all night trying to do it, and I just got it done. But no doubt the wind's blown it to ashes by now." The smoke Kagome had detected earlier.

"I _knew _I smelled smoke." Kagome said to herself, then remembered what she had seen yesterday. "There's so much to tell you, Bankoutsu!"

"Likewise. Get on my back and we can walk and talk."

"O—" Kagome stopped herself, glancing nervously at the door. What if Kaede came looking for her? Or worse yet, one of the servant girls? "Um...I might, er, be missed."

"Please, Kagome?" Bankoutsu pled softly, knowing just how to appeal to Kagome's guilty side.

"Damn you, Bankoutsu." She huffed, boarding her friend's back, and with a smug smile, Bankoutsu began to walk.

"So...how has _your _life been since the Great Fire?"

"Horrible, really. I snuck on board a ship and it led me here...to Morioka...I wasn't even aware I was in Honshu until I saw some of the people. They're so vicious to me, Bankoutsu."

"I don't give them the satisfaction—_or _stick around long enough. I've become a wanderer. I've been all over the countryside, in search of permanent residence...but lately, I've been sidetracked."

"With what?" Kagome asked, curious.

"You." Her face reddened and she cleared her throat, embarrassed.

"Um...m-me?"

"Of course. I thought of how we used to have our competitions—swimming, racing, even fighting. I missed that. Don't you?"

"I do." Kagome admitted. "I miss everyone, too—you, Kagura, Kirara, Renkoutsu, and even Mukoutsu."

"I miss them as well, but I missed you the most."

"We _did _compete most often." Kagome grinned.

"I remember thinking that girls were no match for boys..."

"And then I defeated you in a mock wrestling match!" Kagome cackled.

"I bet you couldn't now."

"Oh? And why would you think _that_, Mister Centaur?"

"Well, perhaps girls are a match for boys, but there is no way on this earth that a girl would be a match for a _man_."

"That's where you're wrong, as usual." Kagome teased. "I'm a woman now, and I could still beat you."

"I don't think so, girl." Kagome jumped off Bankoutsu's back and faced him with a smirk.

"Then let's go, _boy_."

"That's no problem...as long as you don't mind me fighting in my human form."

"Huh?" Kagome paled a little. If she wasn't mistaken, back when they were smaller, whenever Bankoutsu turned back into a human, he was usually naked. As kids, it wouldn't matter, since they were both young and naïve. But now... "Uh, why don't we just fight while you're a centaur?"

"Well, now, that's no fair...I wouldn't want to hurt you, Kagome." Bankoutsu smirked.

"You wouldn't, really. But you-you don't have to, um, revert to your human form, really."

"Afraid you'll get pummeled?" He taunted.

"No!" Kagome retorted. "I just don't—" It was too late. Bankoutsu had already transformed, and Kagome spun around with a girlish squeak, shielding her eyes from Bankoutsu in his..."glory". "Bankoutsu! Change back, change back! Or at least put on some clothes!"

"What's wrong with you?" Bankoutsu demanded, crossing his brown arms. "A lack of clothes never seemed to bother you before."

"Bankoutsu, that was before! Now you're—we're...it's just strange, okay?" Kagome blew a sigh, turning around with her eyes shut tight. Bankoutsu looked at her strangely, noting her red flush.

"You must have fever." He stated, walking up to her and inspecting her face. "That's why you're being so peculiar about this."

"I'm not _fevered_, Bankoutsu."

"Then you're being a stupid girl."

"I'm not _stupid_, either, Bankoutsu." Kagome huffed, opening her eyes again. To be honest, Bankoutsu looked exactly the same...from the waist up, of course. Her eyes dared not stray any lower.

"You must be. See? You've reopened your eyes and I'm no different than I used to be, am I?"

"I suppose." Kagome sniffed, feeling slightly dumb. "But I'd still rather not wrestle with you until you had on pants. You may still have a boy's spirit, but you certainly don't have a boy's body anymore." She paused, then blushed all over again at what she'd said. Bankoutsu blinked, looking at her as though she'd just begun walking backwards. "N-never mind I just said that!"

"...Oh!" Bankoutsu laughed, suddenly feeling playful. "So you're all aflutter because I'm no longer a colt, but a stallion."

"You are the devil himself, Bankoutsu!" Kagome fumed, more frustrated that he'd found the chink in her armor, than angry.

"Okay, so if you've got such a complex about _me _being naked, why don't you strip down yourself?"

"I shall do no such thing!"

"Why not?" Bankoutsu snickered, greatly enjoying himself at Kagome's expense.

"It's cold. And besides, you should know what it means when a man and woman can be nude together." She muttered, but Bankoutsu's expert ears caught the low grumble.

"Kagome. You are my friend—I have nothing in mind but to play with you, like when we were younger. We have not seen each other in so many years, and it saddens me that we can't just have fun without placing so much importance on gender." That made sense. Kagome really did long for companionship these days...and who better with than an old friend?

"I...guess you're right..."

"Listen. If, through no fault of my own, or yours, something happens that you do not like, we can part ways immediately."

"I don't want to part ways with you, Bankoutsu!" Kagome protested. "I just don't want things to get..._physical_."

"Well, we can just stop playing." Bankoutsu shrugged. He had always been a rather simplex boy; it was possible that he really didn't see the harm in them playing like they used to. "Come on—I'm sure that long skirt is a hindrance."

"It is." She finally relented, and, determined to ignore the cold, removed the skirt, as well as her shirt. Bankoutsu looked at her curiously, then started laughing. "What's so funny?" Kagome demanded.

"Those—those fleshy mounds of fat on your chest!" Kagome folded her arms, glaring at him.

"They're called "breasts", Bankoutsu."

"Whatever they are, they're going to get you defeated." He charged at her and tackled her to the ground, grinning, "Ready to surrender?"

"I think the question is, are _you_?" Kagome caught his neck in a headlock and they rolled around on the ground, both trying to overcome the other, until Bankoutsu inadvertently placed one of his rough hands on Kagome's left breast. She released a sharp gasp that made Bankoutsu smirk.

"Hurting already, girl?"

"Bankoutsu, get your hands off my chest!" Kagome squeaked, dread seeping into her voice. Worse yet, Bankoutsu squeezed her breast, making her gasp again.

"I told you these would get you beaten." He gloated, unaware of the tingles of pleasure flowing through Kagome's body.

"This...is cheating." She bit her lip.

"I've never played clean."

"Then neither will I!" Kagome reached between them and grabbed his phallus. His eyes widened and he looked at her in bewilderment.

"You—I thought you said you didn't want this to be physical!" Bankoutsu spluttered, fearing to move, lest he feel too good to get up.

"I don't. But I told you not to touch my chest. Now you get off my breast, and I'll do the same to you." Bankoutsu looked down at Kagome's defiant face, then flicked her nipple with a rough thumb.

"What if I don't want you to?"

"B...Bankoutsu..."

"I'm sorry, Kagome. I lied to you...I wanted us to be naked together. I'm so attracted to you I thought it would drive me crazy when I first saw you naked, and that was when we were children. In these past years, I've dreamt of you, knowing exactly how you looked as a woman...many a lonely night I've spent pretending my hand was you..." Kagome's confusion must have registered on her face, because Bankoutsu reddened and murmured, "I've had to do with my hand the same thing you are doing with yours...except much more vigorously."

"How...how do you mean?" Kagome whispered, feeling a dull throb in her nether regions at her lifelong friend's sudden confession.

"If you wouldn't mind...move your hand back and forth." Kagome did so, taking notice of the strained look on Bankoutsu's face, an expression very similar to that of pain, and Kagome grinned devilishly.

"Well, now, this is a wonderful way to win a fight against you from now on!"

"That's _dirty_, Kagome!" Bankoutsu gasped. "Stop it!"

"Or you'll what?" Kagome hummed playfully, causing the lightest of vibrations on her moving hand. Bankoutsu reached down and grabbed her wrist firmly, making Kagome looked at him strangely. Sweat coated his forehead, and he seemed to be making a very great effort.

"Please, stop." He breathed heavily, and Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Just admit defeat, Ban. You know I had you."

"Okay, okay..." Bankoutsu growled, and Kagome released him.

"You're such a child, Bankoutsu."

* * *

Black Ice: Okay, so little note here. For those of you who didn't know (hell, we didn't even know until we did a bit of research), the Ainu people are people of Russian and Japanese descent. Hence the brown complexion and lots of hair, etc. From what we've read, they're something like Australian aborigines, 'cause they're highly discriminated against and things. It would seem that they're nearly "extinct" now (That's actually what the site said; it makes them sound like animals!), but this story takes place, I guess, somewhere in the past. So there you go, yes? A little history for your booty! Right, Rain?

Blood Rain: (snores)

Black Ice: RAIN! (punches Rain in the arm)

Blood Rain: Well, shit! You're boring!


	3. Chapter 3

Black Ice: For those of you who may have been wondering, Bankoutsu looks like the centaur on the Old Spice commercials. Superfine, right?! (squeals)

* * *

Once the awkwardness of the previous moment had receded, and Kagome was back on Bankoutsu's back, he said casually, "So what's been going on with you?"

"…Oh, yes!" Kagome snapped her fingers, remembering what she'd had to tell him. "You won't believe it, but guess what I saw yesterday?"

"Oh, just tell me. You know I despise guessing games."

"Only because you never win." Kagome teased. "I saw the god of night!"

"You didn't." Bankoutsu snorted.

"I did so! As well as the goddess of the moon, and the god of the stars, too!"

"Stop jesting, Kagome, really."

"I'm _telling _you, Ban!"

"You don't even know what the god of night _looks _like."

"I don't have to! They were saying each other's names and everything! Kikyou said that this sky was unnatural, and Shippou said that Miroku wasn't doing anything about it!"

"You and your stories, Kagome." Bankoutsu shook his head, and Kagome found herself growing angry. She thought at least _he _would believe her.

"This is not a story. This is for _real_. And I'm going to prove it to you, you stupid pony!" Kagome jumped off of Bankoutsu, and he whirled around, piqued.

"Did you just call me a _pony_?!"

"You heard me!" Kagome barked, heading back to the school.

"You-you can't just walk away from me like that! This conversation is not over, girl!" Bankoutsu yelled after her, but she ignored him. How dare he write what she saw off as mere imagination? He certainly gave new meaning to the word "jackass", that was for sure.

When she got to the door of the academy, she tried to open it gently, so that she wouldn't be seen, but unfortunately for her, Yuri answered it, a smile on her face much too large to be innocent.

"I'm telling." She sang, like a younger sibling with a secret. Kagome sighed nervously, knowing this would happen.

"Yuri…"

"I'm telling."

"Look, there's nothing to _tell_, okay? There was an old woman outside from earlier, and I was giving her an apple."

"It took you an entire hour to give an old woman an apple?"

"…"

"You wanna know what _I _think?"

"The cobwebs move?" Kagome mumbled, referring to Yuri's stupidity.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"I said…nothing."

"_I _think you were out there cavorting with a man."

"That's a stupid thought." Kagome pursed her lips.

"Is it? Because maybe it wasn't a full man. Maybe it was a half man. Or should I say half-horse?" Kagome's blood ran cold, and Yuri smirked. "Well, well…it would seem I've got you in the palm of my hand, girl. If you don't want Kaede to know about your little tryst, I suggest you do exactly as I say."

"Yuri." Kaede came down the stairs, completely ignoring Kagome's presence. "I thought I told you to clean up the French classroom."

"Yes, Headmistress, certainly." Yuri smiled sweetly, and Kaede nodded, heading into the kitchen. Yuri turned her "sweet" expression onto Kagome. "Better get to work." She shoved Kagome out of her way and left the room.

"I hate her." Kagome growled under her breath, and headed for the French room. "In fact, I hate this entire stupid school. What's the point in even learning some of these things? None of them matter in the real world." She opened the door and groaned. From the looks of things, the students had been cooking—flour coated the entirety of the room, from the ceiling to the floor.

"You have _got _to be kidding me!" Kagome whined, but her feet dragged over to the broom and she started sweeping.

About an hour into her cleaning, when the room was at least starting to look back to normal, she noticed a tapping sound. Intrigued, Kagome rested her broom against Mademoiselle Desmerais' desk, and walked around, trying to find where the sound was coming from. Her search led her to the window, and she drew back the curtains, startled almost into stumbling backward to the floor.

A large raven stared back at her with piercing yellow eyes and shining black pupils.

"What in all the—?!" Looking around, as though anyone would see her, Kagome opened the door and the raven flew in, landing on the desk. Kagome closed the window and fixed the blinds back to normal, turning to the raven with an annoyed expression.

"Enough with the silent act. Do you care to explain just _why _you're here?" She demanded, crossing her arms. Upon recognizing the glint in the bird's eyes, she added, "And don't you dare think about transforming in here, or I'll pluck every one of those feathers!" The bird rolled its eyes.

"I came to tell you something."

"After you didn't believe me earlier, I don't think I'm extremely inclined to listen to _anything _you have to say, Bankoutsu."

"That's fair enough, I suppose." Bankoutsu sighed impatiently. "But I actually do believe you now."

"Is that so?"

"That _is _so. And do you know why?"

"No, but I'm rather sure you're about to tell me."

"Well, maybe I shouldn't, if you're going to act like a bitch!" Kagome gasped, then growled, wrapping a hand around his neck.

"You little bastard, how dare you?! I should choke the everlasting life out of your birdbrain!" She hissed, yelping in pain when Bankoutsu's talons raked across her arm, forcing her to release him. "Why did you even bother to come here?!" Kagome snarled, looking at the three slashes in her arm. "Just to get my blood on your hands?!"

"Of course not, you idiot!" Despite the pain paralyzing her arm, Kagome was glad the door was closed, or someone might come in and wonder about her state of mind, arguing with a bird.

"Well, now it doesn't even matter! Just get out, Bankoutsu!" The raven ignored her and surveyed her wounds.

"Could I just transform, stupid? Those gashes look pretty serious, and I doubt those other idiots will help you much."

"Since when do you care about me?" Kagome grumbled, but assented to his transformation with a half nod. In moments, Bankoutsu was back to his centaur form, biting into his arm. Years ago, Kagome might have been shocked at this barbarian display, but she had long since learned that his blood, silver and metallic in taste, had magical healing properties. When they were children, he constantly utilized it whenever their fights got a bit too rough.

Once he'd drawn blood—without even a wince—he let it drip over Kagome's wounds and licked the bite mark until the blood clotted.

"If your goal was to maim me, it's been fulfilled." She pursed her lips petulantly.

"Don't be any dumber than you need to, Kagome." Bankoutsu snorted, crossing his sinewy arms, and Kagome narrowed her eyes at him.

"Then you're here to insult me."

"No, that's an anytime thing. As I was trying to _tell _you...I believe you now."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"When I was flying around, trying to calm myself down, I actually _saw _Kikyou-sama. She was adrift on the lake, staring into the sky! I almost couldn't believe my eyes, and I automatically came here."

"Ha! I _told _you, you moron!" Kagome laughed triumphantly.

"Let's not get crazy here!" Bankoutsu warned. "Let's not start calling people morons!"

"I don't see why not, _moron_. You've been calling me every kind of idiot in the book since I saw you." The sound of footsteps on the stairs rattled Kagome with alarm. "And on that note, you need to leave."

"Excuse me?"

"Bankoutsu! You have to _go_! You're going to get me in trouble!"

"Alright, alright." He huffed, moving over to the window. In a rather rough way, Bankoutsu shoved the curtains aside and threw open the window. "But the next time you try that choking stuff, I won't be healing you so quickly." It was virtually the same thing he said all the time, but Kagome couldn't humor him at the moment. As soon as he was gone, Yuri strolled into the room, looking around.

"I came to see how you were doing, but it would seem you haven't made _any _progress at all!" She shook her head in mock pity, then noticed the silver scar on Kagome's arm. "What's _that_?"

"What's what?" Kagome blinked innocently, and Yuri looked at her strangely.

"Never mind. Get this place cleaned up before it's time to go to sleep. Or else..." Yuri's smirk said it all, and Kagome had to keep from attacking her. As she left, Kagome narrowed her eyes and returned to her exhaustive task.

Kagome didn't finish until very late, when most everyone was still asleep. She stumbled tiredly out of the room, her loudly protesting stomach the only thing keeping her awake. She was too drowsy to pay any attention to the creaking of the stairs as she walked, nor the fact that she made it all the way to the kitchen without being intercepted. Kagome opened up the icebox, grabbing a lambchop that was cold but not yet frozen, and a clear pitcher of water. Hands almost numb with sleepiness, she put the lambchop on a plate, poured some water in a glass, and sat down at the small table to eat.

She'd only taken one bite of lamb and one sip of water, before her head hit the table and a loud snore erupted from her parted lips.

Maybe it was the late night eating, but Kagome was having the strangest dream: a pair of curious golden eyes floating in the darkness before her. They were hauntingly familiar, and yet Kagome couldn't figure for the life of her whose they were. Perhaps they were the eyes of the lamb she was eating. She grimaced, this less than cheery thought lifting her eyelids. She could barely stifle her scream when the same eyes of her dream stared right at her, but this time around, they were actually part of a face and thus a body.

"If you're a thief, take whatever you like, I beg of you." Kagome whispered shakily, and the eyes blinked.

"I'm sorry if I startled you." A masculine voice. A _man_. "It's just that...I was...I mean to say..." He sounded horribly flustered, and on the grounds of his nervousness, Kagome's own began to melt away.

"Are you a beggar?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"No, I...I'm Ainu." He said finally, sighing as though the confession were a large weight off his back. "And...I had heard that this school would hire me to work here." Kagome looked at him, a little suspicious, and got out of her seat, going around the table to feel his ears. The man went rigid, his eyes wide, but Kagome didn't seem to take much notice, concentrating on her inspection.

"Well, you have Ainu ears." She confirmed, stepping back to look at him better. "And you do have quite bushy hair." Without much warning, Kagome stuck her finger in his mouth, feeling around for the telltale sharp canines, completely oblivious to her subject's uneasiness. When she felt his teeth prick her finger and draw blood, she nodded and removed her finger. "Your teeth are fanglike as well. Your eyes are a bit unusual, though. Where are you from?"

"Northern Ezo." He said automatically. "Very far north of here."

"What's your name? I may know you."

"I was originally named for a god, but some call me Yokaze."

"What god were you named for?"

"The god Inuyasha." A chill went down Kagome's back and she struggled to retain composure.

"Well...I'm Kagome. You don't mind if I call you Inuyasha, do you?"

"Not at all, Kagome." He smiled wearily, his eyes betraying an inner sadness she could never hope to understand.

"I wish I knew of somewhere you could lodge, but sadly, my own room is nothing but a closet." As Kagome thought, Inuyasha remained silent, staring at the girl. The ability to see through the darkness was very useful tonight; this female was _very _beautiful, a nymph princess in her own right. The way she unwittingly pouted when deep in thought had Inuyasha's stomach fluttering to near maddening intensity. If it weren't for his damnable timidity, he might have been able to tell her so, because he knew exactly how she _thought _she looked: dirty and unappealing. It was how everyone viewed her people, and Inuyasha hated them for it. The Ainu were a stunning people, but why was it that no one else seemed to see that?

"Don't worry about me." He said suddenly, aware he must seem like a dumb fool. "I will find my own lodgings. I simply wish to work here." _Alongside you_, he added in his mind. Kagome smiled, admiring him already.

"Okay, sure. If you come back tomorrow at around eight in the morning, I will try and persuade the headmistress to hire you." Kagome cast a wary glance at the doorway, as though she expected Kaede to come bustling through at any time. "But for now," she said in a playfully conspiratorial whisper, "you should go. If I were to be seen with a man this late at night, I might be cast out for harlotry!" Inuyasha chuckled in amusement, and made a show of exiting quietly through the front door. Once Kagome could no longer see him, he shed his human appearance and returned to normal: black hair cascaded over his shoulders; a long, slender, black tail moved idly against the ground; and leathery wings akin to those of a bat were folded on his back.

"Kikyou...Shippou...I've found her." He whispered to the night, his wings flapping and propelling him into the air.


	4. Chapter 4

Kagome was pleased, if not for the fact that she'd done a very good thing in helping Inuyasha, but for the fact that he seemed to be getting along so well. She had to admit to a twinge of envy that he was accepted so easily and she subjected to the daily scorn of everyone else, but otherwise, she couldn't be happier for him. It was so amusing how his face turned bright red whenever the girls goggled at him or flirted with him, but it also aroused the curiosity within her, making Kagome think. Why was he so shy? She endeavored to find out, not only this, but much more about him; Kagome would strive to tear down the shroud of mystery surrounding the school's new Ainu resident.

Within the first week of Inuyasha's employment, Kagome noticed straightaway—and not without glee—that Inuyasha seemed to only feel comfortable talking to her. If he didn't know where something was, and they were on opposite ends of the school, he would come all the way to her to ask, as opposed to asking another servant much closer to where he was. He didn't talk often, but the words he did speak were for Kagome's ears and her ears only. She delighted heavily in the fact.

"Why do you remain here?" He asked her in his quiet way, on the tenth night of his stay. They had taken to sitting in the carpeted hallway and having these discussions, until one of them—usually Kagome—got sleepy, and they parted ways.

"What?" Kagome blinked, not sure she'd heard him right.

"Why do you remain here?" Inuyasha repeated dutifully, hugging his knees to his chest. "I have seen how distastefully you are treated...it's certainly not in your best interests to stay."

"Rather I be treated ill here than possibly killed elsewhere." Kagome sighed, a little sadly. "So then I suppose it _is _in my best interests." Attempting to lighten the conversation, she added, "But it's funny to see how they fawn all over you, some more literally than others." She recalled with a small smile how Yuri almost fell down the stairs trying to get Inuyasha to notice her. However, Inuyasha's expression was less than amused; he kept his solemn face, staring deep into her eyes in that way he had that made Kagome feel as though he were trying to see her soul.

Kagome reddened, turning away from his penetrating gaze. He said softly, turning his eyes to the dark yellow sky outside the window near his head, "I have no interest in them. Your tormentors are...childlike. In a negative way. Your enemies are mine as well."

"Ah—Inuyasha, you don't really...I mean..." Kagome faltered for words, trying to sort out her jumbled thoughts. "Certainly you don't mean that."

"I say nothing I don't mean."

"...But...you really don't have to oppose them as I do. They actually see you as worth something—don't sacrifice that for something as petty as my opinion."

"It is no opinion. Everything you say about them is entirely true: the headmistress's ugliness, Yumi's horselike teeth, Chisato's spitefulness and that snorting way she laughs, Yuri's amazing idiocy...I have seen it all for myself." Kagome giggled uncontrollably at Inuyasha's rehashing of the maidservants' more-than-obvious shortcomings. He himself cracked a tiny smile, liking the sound of her rarely-heard laugh. "Whereas you, Kagome..." He went on, moving a tendril of hair from Kagome's face. Her laughter halted immediately at his intimate gesture. "...you are more beautiful than even the moon. Your teeth are set rather nicely, encased within lips as soft as clouds. You spite no one, and you awe me with your unselfishness and humility, so much like the very goddess who created you...your intelligence surpasses that of even the smartest deities...and your laugh..." He had moved so close to Kagome's face, she could see where the hair follicles of his eyebrows began. "...is the song of the angels." Kagome's heart raced, threatening to kill her where she was, and finally, the impropriety of the moment weighing too heavily on her, she scooted away, redder than a freshly picked apple.

"I-I think I should go to sleep now!" She stammered, unable to look at him as she dashed to her closet-room. Once she was within the safety of the dark, she tried to catch her breath, though such a feat would prove impossible; Inuyasha had stolen it away from her. _His words were all too kind, laudatory even, but mere compliments all the same_, she reasoned within her inactive mind. _Nothing was meant by them except that I might feel better about myself. He knows I am nowhere near as perfect as he made me sound..._

Yet he had bordered on the verge of poetry, the way he spoke of her. If anything, _he _was the stuff of poetry, with his handsome, grave features...those intense brown eyes... Kagome exhaled shakily, her erratic heartbeat revving up again, and she reasoned that she needed some air. A walk in the brisk chill would certainly cool her blood. She slipped out of her room and made her way to the back of the building, leaving through the servant's entrance.

When she was some distance away from the school, the familiar clip-clopping of hooves reached her ears and she groaned under her breath. She wasn't up to seeing Bankoutsu at the moment; she _really _wanted to be alone. But if she told him so, he would be persistent in convincing her otherwise, stay anyway, or storm off in a huff, making her feel guilty about hurting her feelings. In any case, she knew he'd be annoying her somehow. So with a conceding sigh, she leaned against the nearest tree, folding her arms and awaiting her friend.

"You don't look all that happy to see me."

"If I don't, it's because I'm not." She shot back. "I haven't yet forgotten that you clawed up my arm earlier, jerk, so if you've come around to try it again--" Kagome was startled when Bankoutsu pressed his lips to hers in a sudden kiss.

"B-Bankoutsu!" She touched her lips, staring up at his smug face in shock.

"You talk too much. I had to shut you up _somehow_. Besides, if you're my woman, you should get used to that." Kagome looked at him in dumb confusion, before shaking her head frantically and yelling, "_What?! _I'm not your _woman_, Bankoutsu!" Bankoutsu grinned in thinly veiled self-satisfaction, transforming into his human form. He pressed himself against Kagome, virtually pinning her to the tree.

"You're so naïve, Kagome." He murmured, dipping his tongue into her ear. She cried out at the pleasurable sensation, one she had never felt before. She liked it.

And she wanted to feel it again.

"Wh-why is that?" She whispered, fearful to take her voice even one octave higher, lest it crack horribly. Bankoutsu slipped a hand up her shirt and casually played with her nipples.

"Remember a while back, when we were play-fighting?" How could she not?

"Of course I do." Kagome was feeling a bit fluttery remembering it.

"Do you remember what you did?" She struggled to recall...

"A little." Hadn't she grabbed his manhood? "No." She lied, and Bankoutsu punished her by moving his free hand down her skirt, touching the pink button hidden on her body. Her ragged gasp made Bankoutsu's nature rise and he licked her heated neck.

"I think you remember. I want you to do it again..." He said hoarsely, his finger slipping past her folds and into her tight heat, as his thumb rubbed her button. Unconsciously, Kagome opened her legs wider to him, her face contorted in pleasure. Bankoutsu took his hand from beneath her shirt, when suddenly, hands trembling, Kagome reached out and touched him, his very nakedness spurring a boldness in her that she never remembered having. Her cool hand, clammy with slight nervousness, brought Bankoutsu to perspiration, and he put his free hand onto the back of her head, kissing her again as he thrust his finger in and out of her.

Trying to ignore the distracting ecstasy, Kagome concentrated on stimulating Bankoutsu's rather large cock, wondering how would it feel inside her? Was she even ready for that? These skeptical thoughts were shoved to the back of her mind when she moaned inside his mouth; Bankoutsu's fingers had reached a particularly sensitive spot within her. She made circles with her thumb upon the tip of his flesh, apparently producing the same reaction in him, for he groaned almost painfully.

Few moments of pleasure later, they experienced a feeling they had never known before—something like an epileptic fit, yet so much more blissful—and both felt sticky fluids rush onto their hands. They heard screams, wondering their origin, but soon discovered that they came from themselves. Eyes half-lidded and vision blurred, Kagome's knees gave out and she crumpled to the leafy ground, Bankoutsu right beside her with the same symptoms.

"Bankoutsu." Kagome sighed, his name tumbling from her lips as though she were drunk. He turned his dark indigo orbs, glazed over, onto her, taking her unstained hand in his and playing with her fingers. "What did we just do?"

"I don't know." He murmured, lightly kissing the tips of her fingers. "But it sure felt good."

"I feel so strange..." It was true; she was still trembling from her first orgasm, but she would certainly like to have another, if the chance thrust itself forward...

"So do I." Kagome looked at the thick liquid on her hand and got an idea. Lazily, she traced all sorts of shapes onto various parts of Bankoutsu, purposefully flirting around his half-erect manhood, and he shivered as the breeze made him all the colder with his own juice drawn onto his body. "What are you doing, girl?"

"Just watch." Bankoutsu sat up on his elbows and watched her in a mix of great amusement and arousal as her tongue retraced the shapes she had created, kissing his nose when she was done. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"You're such a moron."

"I know you are, but what am I?" She playfully stuck out her tongue and Bankoutsu smirked.

"Don't tease me with that unless you're planning to use it."

"And what if I am?" She challenged him seductively, invigorated by their sexual activities. Kagome stuck out her tongue again and Bankoutsu captured it gently between his teeth, grinning at her. They both laughed when he released her.

High above them, within the branches of the tallest and sturdiest nearby tree, sat a figure, whose face was contorted in pure anguish and pain.


	5. Chapter 5

"I should smack you in the face!" fumed the red-headed god, fists clenched as he glowed the same color as his hair. The only female in the vicinity seemed to be ignoring both males, her back turned to them, whereas the despondent male to whom this threat was directed could only stare at the ground. "What the _hell _is wrong with you, Inuyasha?!"

"There is nothing wrong with _me_. Is it my fault that she's taken by another?" He said sadly, then turned a slightly desperate gaze onto Kikyou's back. "Kikyou, have you nothing to say?" She remained silent, the tension in the air as thick as molasses.

"Forget her!" Shippou yelled, grabbing Inuyasha's head and turning him back to face him. "Listen to _me_! You kill that amorous centaur, make her yours, and get your hindquarters up there and slaughter Kouga!"

"I will not kill the centaur." Inuyasha said firmly, fixing Shippou with a look that dared him to dispute the declaration. The younger god remained defiantly mute, glaring back at Inuyasha. "If I am to reclaim my place in the skies, I shall do it cleanly and without bloodshed."

"But you--"

"If this were _your _battle, Shippou, you would proceed as you saw fit, correct? Then allow me to do the same. I promise you, my methods will not fail."

"They better not, pretty boy, or the next thing you know, the whole of civilization's gonna come tumbling down upon your head!"

"It shall do so regardless." Kikyou said quietly, and the two males looked over at her.

"Oh, boy, here comes the black cloud." Shippou scowled, crossing his arms and glaring at her now. "You haven't said anything since we found out about this nymph, and now that you've finally opened your mouth, it's to say something completely dispiriting. Is it your job to bring us down, Kikyou?"

"If it were, it would be impossible to succeed," she snapped back, ire burning in her eyes, "what with how low we've fallen! Honestly, Inuyasha, a _mortal _girl?!"

"Ah-ha! And now we come to the root of the problem!" Shippou tapped his foot. "You're _jealous_!" Kikyou narrowed her eyes at him.

"Listen, you red _dwarf_ star, I've absolutely no reason for jealousy. I'm in this for the same reasons you both are. I have no desire to be with Inuyasha. If he wants to choose a human, more's the pity." Shippou snarled in annoyance. He _hated _being called small.

"Are you both forgetting that I'm right here?" Inuyasha said loudly, drawing their attention back to him. He rarely, if ever, raised his voice, so on the off chance that he did, it was important to listen up. "Your bickering certainly won't solve the problem, so why waste my time and yours by doing it? I have been thinking while you were arguing, and I decided that I will persist in making the nymph my own." Kikyou's deepened frown did not go unnoticed. "If either of you have a problem with that, I suggest you put your foot in your mouth to prevent it from flying out."

"I have no problem." Kikyou replied in a clipped tone.

"Neither do I." Shippou grumbled.

"Good. Then this impromptu meeting is adjourned." Inuyasha stood, and Shippou was the first to leave, still grumbling his rancor at Kikyou's insults. Inuyasha and Kikyou stared each other down. "Kikyou." His voice had returned to its normal softness. "Are you truly jealous?"

"I'm simply lamenting the weakness of our supposed ruler. She seems a veritable chit of a _girl._" The way she emphasized "girl" made Inuyasha quirk an eyebrow.

"You've obviously yet to see her. She is no girl."

"Did you _have _to say all of the things you said? You were to compliment her simply, not overdo it."

"Nothing was overdone, Kikyou. I told her all truth." Kikyou sighed, moving closer to him and taking his hands in hers.

"Have you yet forgotten what I said to you, Inuyasha?" She murmured quietly, in case Shippou was around listening. Chances were, he wasn't.

"I haven't. But that doesn't mean I'll consider it."

"The moon has been joined to the night since the beginning of time. Time has yet to stop...why break tradition?"

"That isn't the way the fates have drawn our future, Kikyou." Inuyasha said, a bit curtly. A flash of emotion passed across Kikyou's typically impassive face, but it left as quickly as it came. Inuyasha noticed it all the same. She dropped his hands and turned her back to him again. "You won't betray me, will you, Kikyou? I don't mean to spurn you. I just need you to understand that we aren't supposed to be together."

"You tie yourself too tightly within destiny, Inuyasha." She walked away from him before he could say anything more.

* * *

In the days after their experience together, Bankoutsu had a tendency to follow Kagome around like a stray puppy, something she might have previously found annoying, but now that their bond had been deepened, she thought it was cute. Her nighttime talks to Inuyasha had diminished to nothing in no time flat, what with Bankoutsu's lasciviousness demanding a lot of her free time. He seemed to respect her disinclination to actually have intercourse, and made it his mission to find other ways to please her.

The happiness didn't last long.

A mere week afterward, their relationship hit a snag when Bankoutsu caught the jealousy bug. He noticed how Inuyasha looked at Kagome sometimes—with _smiles_, the scoundrel—and he didn't like it, at _all_. Bankoutsu wasn't the brightest star in the sky, but he wasn't so dumb as not to know when someone was after his woman. Kagome's kindness to him didn't help matters either, but he knew that Kagome was just naturally kind to people. She couldn't help that, and Bankoutsu understood. But Inuyasha could help leering at Bankoutsu's woman, or Bankoutsu would have to help it for him. Perhaps a punch to the eye would do nicely.

Outside, when Inuyasha was throwing out the dishwater, he was confronted by an angry semi-stallion. He raised an undaunted eyebrow at Bankoutsu.

"Is there a problem?"

"You're damn right there is. I don't care if you're Ainu or not—you better leave Kagome alone, or I'll put both of your eyes out."

"I don't think I know you."

"That's far from the point. The next time you even _talk _to her, you're going to have a face full of fist. You've been warned." Satisfied that his threat had been made, Bankoutsu clip-clopped away.

But Inuyasha didn't care about what he perceived as idle threats. That night, when Bankoutsu had yet to come to Kagome's room, Inuyasha caught her before she could leave.

"Inuyasha!" She blinked, surprised. They hadn't talked to each other in what seemed like ages.

"I must have really scared you away that night, huh?" He smiled, and Kagome pinked, remembering.

"Well...you know." She mumbled, a wave of guilt washing over her.

"I'm sorry. Sometimes I get carried away."

"No, it's okay...I think I might have overreacted." Kagome tried to smile back, but she was nervous. "To not have spoken to you in so long...that's pretty bad, huh?"

"It's not _so _bad. You could always make up for it tonight."

"..." Kagome bit her lip.

"Or would I be intruding upon a previous engagement?"

"Uh...no...no, I guess I could talk for a little while." Kagome finally relented, and they sat down in the hallway.

"You know," Inuyasha began, seeming to be thinking about his words even as he said them, "I think that cook is a very pretty woman." Kagome laughed, not because she thought Sango was ugly, but because it was such an random thing to say.

"Have you tried to talk to her?"

"No, I'm far too shy. Besides, she would never like me."

"What makes you think that?"

"I don't know." Inuyasha shrugged, looking at his feet.

"Inuyasha, it would be hard for Sango _not _to like you. You're such a nice person and you're handsome; plus, you're Ainu, so what more could she want?" He didn't say anything, so Kagome sighed and took his hand in hers in a reassuring gesture. "Trust me, Inuyasha—she would like you." _In all honesty, if I didn't already have Bankoutsu, I certainly would... _She admitted to herself, remembering the beautiful things he'd said to her and wishing Bankoutsu would say them as well. But she knew he was too "masculine" to say such mushy gunk, and she sighed again. Inuyasha looked at her, noticing her slight sadness.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"I...Inuyasha...don't tell anyone, but...I kind of have a lover. And he's a really good childhood friend of mine. But...he doesn't always appeal to my sensitive side. Physically, he's everything I need...but sometimes I just wish he would say some of what you said to me." By the time she was done speaking, her face was hot enough to boil a pot of water.

"That's certainly a lamentable plight." Inuyasha agreed. "You at least deserve a man who's not only proven his virility, but his sensitivity as well. For example...he should tell you that you're like the reflection of the moon off of the dark ocean—bright even against a world of darkness." Kagome smiled at him, enraptured by his poetry.

"Tell me more, Inuyasha..." She leaned on his shoulder and he put his arms around her, caressing her bare arms.

"Your skin," he breathed right near her pointed ear, "is as soft and beautiful as the fleece of a black sheep." He kissed her on the neck, stirring the familiar feeling of desire within her. "Your voice is the lyrical strum of not a harsh harp, but a dulcet dulciana. Would that I could play carnally upon the delicate strings of your tender flesh, I would be the happiest man in all this world..." He continued to kiss her skin, and if someone had asked her who Bankoutsu was, she would have no answer.

* * *

Black Ice: Okay, so. I realize we're going on a bit of a _Body She Couldn't Control _railroad track with this one. But remember: Kagome is a nymph. By nymph, I mean technically, not the kind that goes around having sex with everybody and _knows _it's their nature. The nymph we've developed in this story is more of an..._unwitting _nymph. She's following the desires of her heart and her body, but she doesn't realize that it's her nature to do so.

Blood Rain: (yawns)

Black Ice: (glares) Would you shut up already?

Blood Rain: I'll try if you do.


	6. Chapter 6

Kagome was torn, to say the least. Last night, she had to force herself to stop Inuyasha's contact when it was getting far too intimate. Bankoutsu would surely detect the sign of another man on her, but at least she had stopped him from touching her where none but Bankoutsu had ever explored.

Now she was in her small room, in hiding. She hadn't left, and no one had come for her, so she didn't have much to worry about. Truth be told, she liked it like this. Maybe she needed to just be alone for a while. One minute, she had no lovers; the next, it seemed she had _two_! However would she choose? No doubt her hotheaded stallion was searching for her at that very moment...Kagome was starting to feel guilty. He might think she was avoiding him, and it would hurt his feelings. He put on a macho facade, but Kagome knew better.

With a sigh, she crept out of her room, running right into Inuyasha's tall body. He smiled down at her; nothing lewd, just his normal smile. Kagome was expecting him to be gloating about what she'd let him do, but...

"I think there's something about me that repels you. Do I have an offensive smell?" He smelled like spring rain, honestly—peculiar in every sense but offensive to none.

"Of course not." Kagome whispered, as though Bankoutsu were there listening. "You bear the scent of springtime itself...strange as that may be...but you and I...Inuyasha, we can't be together. I'm very deeply fond of you, but...a-as I told you, I have a lover." She tried to explain, pointedly avoiding his indigo eyes. If she saw them, she knew her resolve would crumble to nothing.

"Did you have this lover before you last talked to me? When I asked you why you were still here?"

"N...no...I, um...we formally began our relationship not long after the conversation between you and me."

"Oh?" Now Inuyasha sounded amused. "My rose petal, I think you lie."

Of course he would—her nervous stammer would make_ anyone _think so. "What?! Wait, why am I a rose petal?" She disregarded the possessive pronoun.

"You are petite and beautiful, and you come from beauty as well." He explained, touching a finger to her bottom lip with a smile. Kagome blushed.

"Oh. Why do you think I'm lying?!"

"Don't you find it rather odd that you did not even mention this "lover" until after you ran from me?"

"That's not odd at all." Kagome remarked coolly, crossing her arms, and Inuyasha took her chin in his hands.

"I think it is." He kissed her so gently, she melted right into his arms, quite literally. Without thinking, she put her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, completely negating what she had just said. Making a muffled shriek, she pushed him away from her, her jade eyes wild and a lump in her throat.

"Would you stop?!" She cried out, ignoring the confusion etched all over Inuyasha's face. "How can I think when you keep...doing that kind of thing?!"

"What is there to think about?" Inuyasha frowned, scratching his head. "You kissed me back."

"I..." Even though she was flustered, Kagome couldn't deny that, and she huffed, looking away from him. "That's not the point. Leave me alone, Inuyasha—I _do _have someone, and he wouldn't like you coming on to me so often."

"Hmm." Inuyasha looked at her thoughtfully, then ran a careful finger along her face, making her shudder. "Perhaps _he _wouldn't like it. But from what I can tell, _you _seem to like it."

"I _said _leave me alone..."

"How can I just "leave you alone" when you taunt me so with your supple nymph's body?" Inuyasha sighed, as though _he _were the one anguished instead of Kagome. "I long for even the slightest taste of you, Kagome...all of you." Kagome's face burning with embarrassment when his gaze moved pointedly down her body.

"The only man..." Kagome started to declare, the tremble in her voice making her statement that much less firm, "who will taste _any _part of _me _is Bankoutsu." She would have never expected a shy creature like Inuyasha to exude such uninhibited sexuality! It actually made her body temperature rise a few degrees.

"I see." Inuyasha grinned, licking her neck in that sensitive spot they both knew got her hot and bothered. Her knees gave out and she fell to the ground in quite the subservient kneel, staring helplessly up at him amused expression. Her eyes begged for him to take her, despite everything she'd just said, and Inuyasha chuckled. "Be that as it may, I won't just let you scurry away. You're my black and white doe."

"Why?" Kagome whispered, his poetic metaphors becoming more and more commonplace to her...and that scared her.

"You're quite the rare find...I'd be the biggest idiot in the history of this earth if I were to just let you run right into the arms of another hunter. Remember that." Kagome closed her eyes when he stroked her face, then they snapped back open when his touch went away. She sighed, fanning her heated face, and got back to her feet. This couldn't go on. She had to leave this place, Ainu or not—it was the only way to destroy this already twisted love triangle.

Kagome hurried down to the servant's door and called Bankoutsu's name. Like a streak of lightning, he was there in a flash, sniffing at her suspiciously.

"What the _hell_--"

"Save it, centaur." Kagome pulled on his ponytail like she knew he hated, and just as she knew he would, he grumbled.

"Where have you been woman? I've been scouring this place all over for you, and when you finally decide to call for me, you smell like another man!"

"I know that." Kagome huffed curtly, glaring at him, although both of them knew he was the only one who reserved the right to be mad. "That's why I called you, imbecile."

"Who do I need to thrash?" Bankoutsu punched his fist menacingly.

"I appreciate that sentiment," Kagome smirked at his querulousness, "but that's not what I'm talking about." She looked down at her feet when she spoke her next words. "I...want to leave."

"Leave?" Bankoutsu scratched his head, looking at her strangely. "What do you mean leave?"

"I mean just what I said. There's nothing here for us, Bankoutsu." Further surprising him, she took his hands in hers, her eyes pleading with his curious ones. "I want to return to Hokkaido." She said finally, and Bankoutsu's breath caught in his throat. Taking this as an opportunity, Kagome went on hurriedly, "I've been thinking on it awhile, and I think it's time for us to move on from what happened."

"Are you insane?" He whispered harshly, stinging Kagome to the quick. "We barely escaped that place with our _lives_, Kagome! Our people are hated there—why would you want to go back?"

"Does that matter? Our people are hated almost everywhere. What's the difference between being hated there and being hated here?"

"Life." He said simply, and Kagome sighed, dropping his hands, her disappointment obvious. Bankoutsu's tone softened a little when he said, "I'm sorry, Kagome. But even though we were kids, we weren't stupid enough not to know that our village was burned down for a reason. I don't want to go back to that place."

"But Bankoutsu, look at us! That's the exact reason we _should _go back! We're not kids anymore! We're old enough and strong enough to fight for ourselves, should the need arise! We owe it to everyone from the village to rebuild everything that was destroyed! If we stay in hiding like this, all we're doing is letting them win!" Kagome ranted emotionally, trying to make him understand. "Your mother, my mother—all of our parents would want us to do this, Bankoutsu."

"...Do you really think so?" He murmured.

"I know so." Kagome smiled, and he sighed heavily.

"We'll go to Hakodate." Bankoutsu finally grunted, crossing his arms. "No further." An even larger smile crossed Kagome's face and she leapt into his arms, embracing him gratefully.

"You're the best, Bankoutsu." She grinned.

"Yeah, yeah...but this trip better be worth it, or I'm leaving your ass right there in that provincial hell."

* * *

Inuyasha hadn't been so amused in the entirety of his life. He had followed Kagome and her companion, knowing what her intentions were from hearing her haranguing.

_So...the vixen thinks herself clever, does she? _He thought with a chuckle. _Running away from me, scared of her own desire... _From his position in midair, he reached out his hand, as though he were reaching to pluck her from where she sat, eating fish that Bankoutsu had caught for her. He was a good man, even in Inuyasha's opinion. _Pity he has to lose that wonderful woman._

"You're pathetic." Inuyasha rolled his eyes, knowing just who was beside him.

"Kikyou, _must _you put a damper on my day just yet? I'm keeping surveillance, if you haven't noticed."

"I _have _noticed, and I reiterate: you are _pathetic_."

"Am I?" Inuyasha smiled lightly.

"You are."

"And why is that?"

"Here you are, a god—excuse me, a _dethroned _god--"

"Did you really have to go there, Kikyou?"

"--and you're spying on some human girl who obviously has no interest in you. I'd say that's pretty pathetic."

"She's not a girl, she's my woman, and she's _very _interested in me. She's just too good of a person to let down the centaur by running into my arms." Inuyasha said simply.

"Sounds like an excuse to me." Kikyou yawned. "Or did you deduce that, genius?"

"It's obvious. If you hadn't been picking and choosing scenes, you would know the whole story, busybody." Kikyou pursed her lips in slight annoyance.

"Mm. Since when is she "your woman"? All before, she was just "a woman". Now she's yours? From what I can see, she's still a maiden, yet to be taken by _anyone_, even the centaur."

"Of course she is." He said matter-of-factly. "That is because the fates are on _my _side. Her maidenhead shall be mine, and then so will she. Simple, yes?"

"Stupid, yes."

"You'll see." Inuyasha waved her off. "Why can't you be more optimistic about this? Shippou certainly is."

"It's not optimism when you're a psychotic, hot-headed dwarf."

"Where is he, anyway?"

"Do I look like his mother?"

"Well, you are his sister."

"That doesn't mean I know where he is at all times of the day." Kikyou glanced dully down at Kagome, who was admonishing Bankoutsu for not eating. The centaur merely yawned, seeming to be ignoring her. "She's really not all that pretty." Finally, Inuyasha turned around to look at her, looking entertained by her "casual" criticism of Kagome.

"Human women can't all be goddesses of the moon, Kikyou." She met his eyes and huffed, leaving. Inuyasha shook his head, turning back to Kagome.

He then had a peculiar thought.

_I think Shippou was right._

_I think she **is **jealous._

* * *

Black Ice: Wowzer, when's the last time we did a good rant?

* * *

Black Ice's Topic of the Day: Overreact Much?

Black Ice: Okay, so, here's the thing. We're watching the news lately, and it's like...well, read the title! Why the hell—okay, maybe I should start off about what I'm talking...about. "Sexting". Heard of it? It was made up, presumably, by news people who don't like it. "Sexting" is, apparently, having very silent phone sex...like, with words. Doesn't _that _blow your mind?

What's so mind-blowing about it, in fact, is the fact that this has been "going on" for quite some time now. I mean, how many monkeys do you need to put in a cell phone factory before they start texting nasty messages at each other? Let's be serious!

Apparently, you can get in trouble for "sexting". And I don't mean parents taking away your phone. I mean, _jailtime _trouble. Did you guys know that? That is so...stupid! It's not even the law's business what we're texting about! (By we, I mean "teenagers" as a whole. I don't "sext".) I mean, we're not plotting to kill anybody, are we? We're phone-fucking! What's next, are they gonna outlaw actual phone sex? Then what's after that? Will sex be a crime? Where does it end?!?!

(sighs) I think society has too little on their minds. Really. "Sexting"? Get a life, people.


	7. Chapter 7

That night, he came to her in her dreams. It was just like the night they first met, except thi stiem, those golden eyes were accompanied by his fever-inducing body...but something ws different. As Kagome continued to stare at him in shock and wonderment, those eyes turned indigo; wings sprouted from his back, as well as a tail, and now Kagome gawked.

Inuyasha wasn't Ainu. He wasn't even human. He was the god of night! (duh)

"How could I have been so _stupid_?" She bemoaned, and he merely grinned.

"I can only come to you like this in your dreams...this way Kouga won't notice anything out of place." With a snort, he bitterly added, "Although I wouldn't be surprised if my continuing existence at all flew right over that idiot's head..."

"Don't just talk to me as-as if this were _normal_!" Kagome yelled. "You _lied _to me! I actually lu..." She bit off the words, blushing even in her dream, but Inuyasha was no fool.

"You lusted after me, didn't you?" The way he said it made it more a fact than anything else. "Oh, Kagome." Inuyasha sighed, touching her face gently. "You are so innocent, yet so..." Kagome said nothing, letting him wrap his arms around her and hold her as if she were a child. "You're right. I was not entirely truthful with you."

"The only truth to ever come from your mouth was your name, and even that was a half-truth." She said quietly, feeling betrayed somehow. "Why did you lie? Did you think I couldn't accept the truth?"

"I wouldn't condescend to you like that, Kagome. That wasn't what I was worried about, though. I was worried about _you_. I did this for _you_." He told her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"And why should I believe that, Inuyasha? Why should I believe anything you say, or for that matter, anything you've _ever _said?"

"If you thought me so bad as all that, I don't think you'd be letting me hold you like this." Kagome snuggled even closer to him, liking how warm he was, but it still didn't change the fact that he was a liar, and she told him so.

"Then please, let me tell you the whole story. If you decide that you still want nothing to do with me, I will leave you forever." He swore solemnly, and at Kagome's reluctant expression, he appended, "I give you my word as a god, Kagome."

"Well...tell on, I suppose. I've got all night. Heavy sleeper, you know."

"It all began some hundred or so years ago. Ayame, the wind goddess and creator of your race, had a good balance with both me and Miroku. The sun rose in the morning, then set, and that's when I, Shippou, and Kikyou made our appearances as the denizens of night. Kikyou provided the light of the moon, Shippou the light of the stars, and I the contrasting darkness. My role proved even more important than Miroku's, as the people of our land liked and accomplished more in the night than in the day.

"Ayame, who had wanted a rest from her position for some time, came to me and asked that I take her place as the ruler. I consider myself a modest man, but I was so flattered that she should ask _me _and not some of the more suitable gods, I declined. Many more nights did she come to me, requesting this, until finally, I relented. Few days later, I was crowned."

"So...why is it that you are here now? I know that gods rule for much longer than a century, and Kouga has been Our Divinity since the days of my mother's childhood."

"I ruled for only two years." He shook his head, lamenting his short reign. "Ayame had had such high expectations for me...I felt horrible that I couldn't live up to them. Mind you, I did nothing like what Kouga's doing now—I never dominated the days with the darkness of night. I wasn't weak either. I was simply young, inexperienced, and foolish. Kouga was a friend and brother to Miroku, and he didn't much care for me. Miroku had no problem with me initially, but Kouga played upon his slight at the time jealousy that people appreciated night more than day.

"I tried to make him think better of me—both of them. I supplied them with an endless of women, wine, and wonderful food. I had fine garment made of the best fabrics for them. I gave them with the strongest weapons most suited to their personalities."

"But they still hated you, didn't they?" Kagome sighed, her anger at him gone in a rush of sympathy coursing through her.

"Nothing I did was good enough. They sneered at my clothing, refused my weapons, and broke my women. I had just about given up, when suddenly, Miroku invited me to his hall for a banquet. He even offered to have it at night, knowing my discomfort with daylight. Kikyou and Shippou were invited as well, and I suppose I should have found this suspicious, but I was so eager to have their favor...and they knew that, and they exploited it." His fists clenched in anguish, and Kagome twisted around to face him, her eyes moist.

"That's not right," she whispered, her heart bleeding for Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, please, don't tell me any more. I don't think I can take it."

"I'm sorry to have upset you." Inuyasha kissed her lightly on the lips. "Don't cry, Kagome."

"I can't help it. Injustice like that makes me so angry!" Inuyasha smiled slightly at her.

"Kikyou, Shippou, and I have recently been making some plans." He began slowly, like he was saying the words even as he thought them. "I've decided to challenge Kouga for the throne."

"That's wonderful, Inuyasha!" Kagome beamed, and he stood, taking her hands in his, spurred by her encouraging smile.

"The only thing I need now...is a mate." His intense gaze boring into her eyes made her redden terribly.

"Wh-who? M-m-me?" She stammered, her palms suddenly sweating profusely. "B-but why?"

"You are everything a goddess should be, and more. Even if it were not necessary, I would still want you for my own. By myself, I don't have nearly enough strength for the ascension into the pantheon realm. Powered by the heart's bond to another, not only can I enter the realm, but overpower Kouga as well. Kagome..." She was stricken dumb by the raw emotion in his eyes. His voice had cracked on her name, indicating that he was actually on the verge of tears. Kagome had never seen a man, much less a god, display so much fervor. "Please, help me. Be my strength. Be my mate."

"I..." How could she possibly refuse? "But...why does it have to be _you _to step up to the throne? Why not Sesshoumaru or-or even Kikyou or Shippou? Kouga did, and he's just the god of speed." Kagome had to struggle to keep her own voice steady.

"I must make up for my failure to Ayame. She was like a mother to me, Kagome—she wanted for nothing but a more peaceful world, the ruler of which she wants to be...me. I don't know why she puts such faith in me, even now."

"You said..."was" like a mother to you?" He nodded.

"She has gone on into eternal rest, but she still contacts me every now and then. I go to her shrine in Furano, in the center of Hokkaido, to communicate with her from time to time."

"Bankoutsu and I are headed towards Hokkaido!" Kagome gasped, and Inuyasha smiled, pleased.

"Then we will go there. Ayame will want to meet you, and verify the truth of what I say."

"Well...I do kinda want to meet her...but she doesn't have to verify anything." She looked shyly up at his quizzical orbs. "I believe you." Inuyasha stared at her, as though he couldn't really see her, and when Kagome was about to start worrying, he grabbed her and kissed her passionately.

"You, koibito, are the most extraordinary woman I have ever had the great pleasure to meet." He breathed incredulously, as Kagome struggled to regain focus in her spinning vision. Inuyasha paused to listen to something, then swore lightly. "Damn—the centaur calls for you. Wait for me—please?" She blinked, her eyes returning to normal, but before she could ask him what he meant, he was gone, and Bankoutsu was the only person around again. Kagome stared at him for quite some time, before she realized that her eyes were open.

"B...Bankoutsu?" She murmured. Had the dream been real? Or had it been just that—a dream?

"Who the hell else, crazy girl? I've been trying to wake you up for the longest! You better wake up—_you're _the one who dragged me along on this little excursion of yours, so there's no time to be taking catnaps." Bankoutsu huffed, and Kagome glared at him, rising to her feet to brush off her clothes.

"Well, ex_cuse _me for wanting to get some sleep in. It's completely my fault that I haven't gotten any good sleep in days, not _your _fault for always being so amorous. _Please _forgive me." She drawled, sarcastic beyond belief.

"You're excused _and _forgiven. Lucky you." Bankoutsu turned around, gesturing for her to get on his back. Kagome gaped at him. She should've expected sarcasm to fly right over her dense friend's head...but she couldn't believe that he was _seriously _this slow!

Shaking her head, she got on his back, and he began to walk. He was obviously in no hurry, much to Kagome's annoyance.

"Don't you think you could move a little more quickly?"

"I don't know why. We're just going to Hakodate."

"...Yeah...about that..." Kagome fidgeted with her fingers. "I, um, actually need to go to Furano." Bankoutsu's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he involuntarily gave a loud whinny that startled Kagome. She'd never heard _that _sound come from him before.

"Hell no! You must've clanked that hard head of yours on a damn rock or something! I already told you, Hakodate's as far as I'm going to go!" He growled. "You're _really _pissing me off with these unwarranted requests, Kagome!"

"You can't even _spell _unwarranted, Bankoutsu!"

"That doesn't mean I don't know what it means!"

"Why are you being such an asshole?!" Kagome snapped. "I'm just asking you to go to Furano!"

"And why the fuck is that?! All before you were perfectly content to just be in Hakodate! What brought on this change of heart?!"

"The old village is in Obihiro, yes?"

"Was," Bankoutsu corrected, and Kagome narrowed her eyes. Maybe it was the conversation she'd had with Inuyasha, but she was really hating Bankoutsu!

"It just seems like an easier trip from Furano. And then you can leave as you see fit."

"So that's it, is it?" Kagome shrieked when Bankoutsu dumped her off onto the ground, then turned to glower at her. "You want me to leave. There's someone you're meeting in Furano, yeah?"

"..._WHAT?!_" Kagome laughed in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'm not as stupid as you think I am, Kagome."

"No, you're not! You're even fucking _stupider_!"

"That's not a word!"

"LIKE YOU WOULD KNOW!" Kagome raged. "How in all the hells would I be meeting someone in Furano?! I haven't even _been _to Hokkaido in _years_! Who would I be contacting?!"

"The hell if I know!" Bankoutsu and Kagome glared at each other silently for a little while, before he said, in a more level tone, "Look. I thought maybe your attitude might've softened up over the years, maybe even more if we were a couple. But it looks like you're not mature enough to handle a lover. You're still a _child_, with all kinds of unrealistic fantasies that you want me to fulfill, but guess what, Kagome? I can't, and I won't try to."

"So let me get this straight, you pompous asshole. You were just in this relationship for the lust? You never had any feelings for me?"

"That's not what I said. See, there you go, blowing everything out of proportion like you like to do." Bankoutsu shook his head. "How about this, Kagome? You go back to that school of yours, and call me back when you're more mature. I think I liked it better being a nomad on my own."

"You—Bankoutsu, you cannot be serious!" Kagome spluttered, watching him walk away from her. "You're going to just _leave _me here?!"

"Like I said, if you're willing to be more mature, you know where I'll be."

"NO, I _DON'T_!" She screamed, scaring birds from their treetops. When Bankoutsu was out of sight, she bellowed at the top of her lungs, "_**INUYASHA!!!!**_"

* * *

Black Ice: That seemed a bit rushed, don't you think?

Blood Rain: Yeah...kinda. But let's be honest, ladies—you're with a dumb jock like Bankoutsu. Then a better deal, say, a romantic, intelligent dude like Inuyasha, comes along and basically says he wants you. You want him too. Wouldn't you kinda lash out at the guy you're with, out of frustration that you can't (yet) have the awesomer guy?

Black Ice: My. That was...quite the analogy. (whistle) Whoa.


	8. Chapter 8

Inuyasha's smile was brighter than the sun he spoke of, compared to Kagome's deep, dark scowl, at least.

"I really want to just smack that damnable grin right off your face, Inuyasha." She grumbled.

"On a happier note, you've never been more attractive."

"I've never been _angrier_!" Kagome seethed.

"I stand by my statement."

"I can't believe you would do something so _dirty_! So _underhanded_!" Inuyasha shrugged, her insults not fazing him in the least.

"You made your choice. By process of elimination, he had to be crossed out."

"Not like _that_!" Kagome whined, lamenting the loss of her oldest friend.

"At least you have me." Inuyasha smiled, but fear pricked him, even more so when Kagome gave a noncommittal sigh. "That's what you wanted, right?" His voice was starting to sound unsure, and his shy nature was showing. "Wait, Kagome." He took her by the wrist and stopped her. "I...I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to hurt _you_; I just wanted Bankoutsu out of the picture so I could have you. I never intended for you to lose your friend..." Inuyasha was so ashamed of what he had caused, he could barely look her in the eye.

"I know, Inuyasha." She finally said, after what seemed like hours to the night god. "It just...irks me that Bankoutsu's so damn jealous all the time."

"Though he had good reason to be," Inuyasha pointed out, grinning with his overwhelming relief at her acceptance.

"Not really." Kagome muttered, crossing her arms. "He thought I only wanted go to Furano to meet a man. When in all the _hells _would I have gone so far out of my mind, I would travel all that way just for a man?!" Her disbelieving look of revulsion amused Inuyasha.

"Yeah. Things would be different if it was for a god, huh?" He teased, kissing her neck.

"Perhaps," Kagome giggled. "If the god were worth my time..."

"Do you know one who might be?" Inuyasha murmured, moving her yukata sleeve up to kiss up her arm.

"I just might."

"What's he like?" Looking deep in to her staring lustful eyes, he ran his hands all over her body at an agonizingly slow rate.

"He's really quite handsome..." Kagome breathed, goosebumps prickling her flesh. "Whether in human form or deity form. He's got piercing dark blue eyes..sometimes they're bronze...and he's one of the most beautiful males I've ever seen."

"One of?" Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow, coming to a halt. Kagome squirmed, missing his touch.

"Bankoutsu ties." She shrugged with a helpless grin. "What can I say? Just because he's a jerk and an idiot doesn't mean I must lie about his appearance."

"Ah...would that I could mate you here and now, so hard and so often that you would barely even remember you ever knew a centaur." Inuyasha growled, defeated. "But it cannot be helped. We must save the actual fun for after Ayame okays our re-entrance into the realm of the gods." He looked her body up and down, then shuddered with barely concealed desire. "I fear I may lose my wits before we arrive."

"Surely there's an easier and faster way to arrive." Kagome frowned in thought. "I've seen your wings. Can you not fly?"

"I can, but it wouldn't be in either of our best interests." Inuyasha shook his head. "We have to take the human way. But I could carry you a distance. I may not have my superhuman strength, but that I do have is above average."

"No, I don't have anything against walking. But I appreciate the sentiment." He blinked at her as she walked ahead of him, her hips swaying in a more erotic fashion than he remembered. Inuyasha looked down at his painful hardness and sighed, hanging his head low. Only a woman could cause him so much pain...especially a _human _woman. He jogged to catch up with her, and something occurred to him.

"Kagome, when does your moon-blood come about?" It was an innocent question, but she whirled around to face him with such fire in her eyes and redness in her cheeks, he might as well have demanded she suck him off.

"I don't think that concerns you, Inuyasha!" She spluttered, her indignation confusing and startling Inuyasha.

"Why not? If I am to be your mate, this is something I feel I should be aware of."

"But that is completely personal, something a male doesn't need to know!" Inuyasha studied her carefully.

"From what I know of human women, judging by your frequent changes in mood, I would sat it's near." He had been less than prepared when she pounced on him, yanking on his pointed ears. Inuyasha yelped, his eyes swirled in his pain.

"_YOU-ARE-AN-IDIOT!_" She screeched, and got off of him, dusting off her hakama.

"I do so love a strong woman," Inuyasha grinned, rubbing his ears as he got up, "but that just plain hurt."

"It's very rude to mention that kind of thing to a female. It offends us greatly!"

"But I hear females talk of it amongst themselves all the time! What is the difference from me discussing it and another woman discussing it?"

"The difference is the blood itself. If a woman were to ask you the state of your...your manhood, you'd be appalled, wouldn't you?"

"Not particularly." Inuyasha shrugged as they kept walking. "If the woman were you, I might say something like...uncomfortably adamant, seeking the pleasurable warmth of your womb." In his cool way, he could stare right at Kagome as he said this, but she was far too embarrassed to meet his gaze. Her face burned with his honesty.

"Don't be so bold!" She stammered, waving him off.

"In my boldness lies only truth."

"You torment us both with your truth..." Kagome's longing whisper, unmeant for his ears, reached them anyway, and he sighed.

"Forgive me. I hadn't meant to...well. I wasn't aware you desired me so much as all that."

"Why wouldn't I? I know the size of your want...in all accounts..." Kagome breathed, heat prickling all over her skin. She absently scratched her neck, knowing a rash might soon develop there. "Just to know that someone like _you _could feel that way about someone like _me_...it's unfathomably enthralling, to say the least."

"Love, don't demean yourself." Inuyasha chastised gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Humans are fools. They hate what they are ignorant to. You are a beautiful woman, intelligent and strong, and it is only _my _honor to have you as my own. I..." He looked away in perceived awkwardness. "I have never been successful with women. What you initially saw of me was no farce—I am truly shy. Even when I lived amongst the heavens, if ever a goddess approached me—and believe me, many did—I could not stay in their company for long."

Gears were whirring in Kagome's brain, but she chose to start slowly. "So...how exactly did you overcome that to talk to me?"

"You were the only woman worth it." He admitted, and Kagome's heart fluttered for this sensitive man, almost boylike in his charm.

"And you say you have never been around a woman as long as you have I?"

"Your implications are right. I have never known a woman." Even though she had already been aware of this from what he'd told her, it was still a major shock factor.

"So you _are _a virgin...?! But your advances...they're so skillful!" Kagome exclaimed. Inuyasha chuckled sheepishly.

"Mere instinct...I just did what came naturally to me. I've never been so...explicit before. It's invigorating."

"Keep that in mind when we mate." Kagome purred in his ear, and he groaned, feeling that old familiar tingle in his lower region...

* * *

They reached the Tsugaru Peninsula—a large tract of land extending into the East Sea—by nightfall, their steps propelled by their desire...to reach Hokkaido, of course.

Kagome was half-asleep on Inuyasha's back, almost about to lose the fight with her sleepiness, when he stopped walking. Kagome yawned, opening her eyes a crack wider. Before them sat a hostel, with its own small dock and two rowboats.

"Why are we here?" Kagome mumbled sleepily.

"This is the Tsugaru Inn, the border hostel. Travellers house here when they are too tired to cross by themselves and the inn doesn't go over at night. Too dangerous."

"My question has still yet to be answered."

"I thought it was obvious." Kagome's forehead wrinkled in thought, then she gasped lightly.

"Wait, Inuyasha, you can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am."

"We can't! They won't accept us!"

"We shall see." Kagome scrambled off of him and followed him nervously as he strode into the inn as though he were something other than what he looked like—with the confidence of a god.

The two of them were greeted with scornful stares as they came in.

"And what are you dirty otherlanders doing here?" A smirk spread across the innkeeper's face. "Thought that fire burned you all out."

"No, good sir, I'm afraid not." Inuyasha smiled congenially. Kagome trembled behind him, knowing from experience how "normal" Japanese tended to get violent toward Ainu people. "Actually, I was wondering if my wife and I could stay here for the night, then catch a boat across to Hakodate."

"Ha!" The man snorted. "I don't think so. We don't house dusty stragglers like you, especially for free. So do yourselves a favor and drown in the sea." His hateful words stung Kagome, who, even after being mistreated by these holier-than-thou Japanese for a long portion of her life, was still affected by this maltreatment.

"Unfortunately, neither of us lacks the ability to swim." Inuyasha shrugged, as if to say, "What are you gonna do?" "However, we are in possession of quite a large amount of money." Inuyasha slammed a gold _koban_ on the counter, his smile unwavering.

Though he salivated rather much, he must have taken Inuyasha's kindness for weakness, because he said, "You think one lousy koban is gonna get you and your dirt-skinned whore a room in the finest inn on the border?"

"You make a good point. But there is more money I have for your payment, and I would ask that you refrain from insulting my wife if you wish to receive it. I might be a bit tempted to take back the money and stay in one of your fine rooms free of charge."

"And just how do you expect to accomplish that?" He leered nastily, and Kagome whimpered like a young girl when his eyes fell onto her...his lustful intent was hard to miss.

Neither could prepare for the surprise that followed when Inuyasha's hand lashed out in a motion not unlike these used by the weather god Sesshoumaru. The innkeeper's eyes bulged, Inuyasha cutting off his air supply.

"My name is Inuyasha. I was named for that god for a reason. I could sever your ties to this life as swiftly as the twinkling of the tiniest star, so I dare you to look at my wife like that once more." He said calmly, and released the man, who gasped for air.

"I will...show you...to your room, sir..." He wheezed, stumbling from behind the counter and leading them to the room.

"You see?" Inuyasha smiled at her, linking Kagome's fingers with his. She was too astonished to reply.

Once they were behind their shoji doors—they'd been given the best room in the inn—Inuyasha sat on their large feathered bed, Kagome sitting numbly beside him.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, Kagome. I don't like to resort to that kind of method...but I didn't like how he was looking at you."

Even he was surprised when Kagome practically jumped him, lathering him with passionate kisses.

"K-Kagome!" He stammered, obviously startle, and she grinned down at him, her eyes hazy and her fang poking devilishly out from above her lip.

"That has to have been the sexiest display of ownership I have ever seen. _Ever_," she whispered sensually in his ear, and he stiffened.

"I...don't quite understand...but I like it." Inuyasha bit his lip, the desire to take Kagome all too strong in him.

"I don't know why, but seeing you just flip out on that man was so...primal." Kagome licked at his ears and Inuyasha dug his human fingernails into his palms, feeling his godly nature rise. "Shrine be damned, Inuyasha—I want you _now_!"

"No!" Inuyasha whimpered, skittering away from his amorous mate-to-be, as his right eye faded from brown to dark blue. "We must wait, Kagome, I beg of you!" The stretchy fabric of which his black pants were made were straining, particularly in the crotch area. Kagome eyed this part of him with an almost animalistic leer that made Inuyasha's other eye turn indigo.

"Begging will only get you one place, my love." She cooed, looking every bit the nymph she was. Inuyasha tried his best to return to his human appearance, but Kagome was insistent on rubbing him through his hakama. Inuyasha growled, sinking his fingernails—which were now claws—into the bed, in a labored effort to keep from ravishing the tempting female before him.

"Please, Kagome...stop!" His hips bucked in response to her ministrations, and as his tail sprouted through the seat of his pants, his wings followed right after. "Turned on" was a severe understatement for Kagome, viewing her lover in full god mode, and she squealed with delight when he tackled her to the bed, ripping away their obstructive clothing in few motions. Inuyasha kissed her fiercely, his obstinate need pressing against Kagome's heat.

"I'll only ask you once more, Kagome." He panted lightly, licking at her breasts in between his words. "For your sake and mine, reconsider this joining. I want you as badly as you want me, if not more so, but it would _really _be best if we--" Kagome grabbed his hair and forced him to look at her.

"Shut up and pleasure me." An obliging smirk crossed his lips, and he did just as she demanded.

* * *

Black Ice: (shivers) All this smuttiness! My God, this really is a remake of _Body She Couldn't Control_, isn't it?!

Blood Rain: (shakes head) I think you just pissed people off with where you stopped. It doesn't specify whether Kagome lost her virginity or not?

Black Ice: That's what the next chapter's for. Duh...

Blood Rain: (glares) I'll let that one slide, since you have to do the next rant.

* * *

Today's Rant: First They're Sweet...Then They're Sour...Then They Piss You Right the Hell Off...

Black Ice: Okay, so it's somewhere around eleven p.m. I'm watchin' a particularly bitchin' rerun of Family Guy. So it's on commercial. I hate commercials, so I generally tend to turn to something else when they're on, but I was just too lazy this time, so I just watched it. And one of those Sour Patch Bear commercials came on, you know, with the bad-ass candy bears... This one was the one where the red bear cuts off the girl's ponytail, and as soon as he starts looking remorseful, she's like, "It's okay."

Number One! If I had that much hair—which I don't, sadly—I would be pissed at _anything _that fucked it up, especially an colorful, sugar-sprinkled, edible mammal.

Number Two! If that little bastard had given _me _a revolting "haircut" like he gave her, I'd for damn sure not be saying "it's okay". No, I would pick him up and _eat his little ass_!!

That is all.

* * *

Blood Rain: (heckles) Hey! Hey, you, with the rant! You're boring! You're even boringer than a white shoelace!


	9. Chapter 9

"You know, Inuyasha...you've told me all the things everyone knows about you. I want to know about _you—_your childhood, the life you had before you ruled the...well, the world." Kagome said to him as he helped her off the boat. The innkeeper had been so nice as to carry them across himself, but he was probably just eager to be rid of the noise-making couple. Last night, they hadn't had sex, but Inuyasha found so many new ways to pleasure her, sex seemed overrated to Kagome now.

Of course, that didn't mean she didn't still want to do it.

"No one ever wants to know about that part." Inuyasha chuckled, not relinquishing his hold on her hand even when she was safely on land. He liked the feel of her, warm and soft and...trusting. When he turned god last night, he thought he really would rape her, and if he did that, he could never forgive himself. But the trust in her eyes...he could have cried. This wasn't his first realization, but he was so lucky to have found a woman like this.

"Well, no one's ever been your mate, from what you tell me." She grinned, nudging him playfully. "Come on, tell me. I want to know."

"Okay, but wouldn't it only be fair for you to tell _me _about _you _as well?" Kagome blinked, apparently not expecting this.

"You want to know about me?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "There's a history behind you, I can tell."

"Well, you're right about that." Kagome muttered, and realized that he was holding her hand. They'd been walking this entire time, holding hands. It was such a simple gesture, yet so romantic...especially after last night. To be honest, Kagome felt somewhat liberated to be able to be with him without fearing that Bankoutsu would find them out, and with that liberation came guilt. She knew she shouldn't think of Bankoutsu as a conquered impediment, but deep down, she knew that was just what he had been. A fateful distraction. Her true destiny had obviously been to obtain Inuyasha...

Or so she hoped.

"Do you really want to know the dark past that surrounds me?" She asked him, very seriously, and Inuyasha stared back at her, just as solemn.

"I do."

"Okay, fine...but when you start feeling all depressed, don't try and throw the blame on me."

"I'm the god of night, Kagome. I was born depressed." He smiled slightly, and Kagome returned the smile, before sobering up to begin her story.

"I was born in a small village in Muroran to an Ainu priestess and a young prince who'd fallen from grace when he fell in love with my mother. Our people don't recognize what we called the "outer government"; the only people we followed were the gods. So the prince wasn't fawned over because of his lineage. He was treated as a normal man. Soon, he became a significant part of our community, and a few months after his initiation into the Ainu world, my mother was pregnant with me. I was her only child.

"I grew up amongst what you might call an active bunch. We never went a day without playing around outside, soaking up the fresh air as bestowed upon us by the gods. We caught fish and hunted with our bare hands; we wrestled very often, even the girls. Our people didn't want to raise prissy, weak-minded girls, so they had us wrestling at very early ages. We were taught everything we needed to know in life—writing, reading, history, that kind of thing.

"Kouga was the god even when my mother was a child, so you can imagine how life was in _my _childhood. But our race lives long, and one of the Old People could no longer stand Kouga's rule. His name was Tetsujin, meaning wise one, and he was my grandfather on my mother's side. He would openly blaspheme Kouga, denouncing his piss-poor ruling methods, until the rest of us began to see exactly what he was talking about.

"I was too young to understand what everyone had been talking about before, but then again, I was too young to care, either. I had always thought nature's hue to be a bit strange, but I think that was just Ayame-sama's influence within me. Well...I think that Kouga heard the rebellious cries of our people, and needless to say, he didn't like them very much." Kagome began to twiddle her thumbs uneasily, rehashing the events in her mind, and Inuyasha's brows furrowed suspiciously.

"What happened?"

"He torched our lands. I wish I could say everyone died, but I don't think that's true. _I _managed to escape, and obviously, so did Bankoutsu, but I don't know who else escaped, if anyone." Kagome sighed dismally, hating to remember these things. Like a shot from one of those Western _dangan—_weapon projectiles—Inuyasha immediately felt his mate's pain, and he embraced her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Kagome. I shouldn't have forced you to bring that back up..."

"It's okay. You didn't force me. It's not like their deaths can be changed or anything." Kagome's words set his heart aflame and he growled lowly.

"This is all the more reason that lazy, bigoted tyrant should be dethroned." He declared firmly, glaring up at the skies. Though his powers were muted, and not very reliable, he didn't detect Kouga up there. He was no doubt gallivanting with a bunch of human maidens, as he was so prone to do. "How dare he smite your people?!"

"Don't be angry, Inuyasha."

"How can I not?!"

"Because you're biased. If it wasn't _my _people, it wouldn't matter anymore."

"That's..." A protest died on his lips when Kagome's eyes bored into his. He sighed, his anger fading from him quickly. "That's true...but still. He didn't have to burn you all up."

"If someone blasphemed you when you were god, Inuyasha, what did you do?"

"What _could _I do?" He shrugged. "An opinion is an opinion. It doesn't make it true, but it doesn't make it false, either. I was rarely blasphemed anyway. People will think what they want to think, regardless of what you want to do about it, and because Kouga killed off your people, generation after generation of Ainu people will hate him now."

"If we live that long." Kagome mumbled.

"Why wouldn't you?" Inuyasha frowned slightly.

"Inuyasha, let's get honest here. There has never been a lot of us. We're on our way to extinction."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Kagome blinked in surprise at the firmness of his voice, then she smiled a little wryly.

"Since when did _you _get so intrepid? I thought you were the shy type." She teased him, and he smiled back at her, his eyes glittering with something she'd yet to see—something she didn't quite recognize, but she knew she'd seen it before somewhere...

"I was. And then I met you."

* * *

"My, you must specialize in unoriginality." Inuyasha sighed pointedly, rolling his eyes.

"Really, Kikyou, are you this bored? Must you follow me around like this _all _the time? First you call me pathetic—which _still _hurts me—and yet you seem to always be here on my "pathetic" escapades."

"Is it my fault you're using such overused drivel just to lure a human girl up into the heavens?"

"I don't need the "drivel". She already likes me."

"And that, Inuyasha, may be where the problem lies." Kikyou linked her fingers together, staring intently at Inuyasha.

"What problem?"

"I don't think this relationship is very one-sided. I think you like her back."

"And what if I do? I told you, I don't lie. I've told her nothing but the truth." Kikyou shook her head.

"Exactly. This is a crucial point in the mission. You can't afford to be distracted by this girl—stay focused on the goal at hand."

"I am focused. And Kagome is not a distraction. She _is _my goal. Once I regain my powers, she will be my queen."

"That's not how it's supposed to go!" Kikyou startled him a little with her vehement declaration and he blinked.

"What does _that _mean?" He demanded.

"You can't have a human for a queen, Inuyasha."

"Why not?"

"Because it exceeds her purpose. She is only a technicality, nothing more. When you are king again, she is to be discarded." Fire worthy of the star god blazed within Inuyasha's eyes and it was Kikyou's turn to be startled when he snarled out, "How _dare _you, Kikyou?! How dare you write her off as something so trivial?! Kagome means more to me than just a means to rise to power. And about this whole "supposed to go" thing...aren't _you _the one who told me I "tie myself too tightly within destiny"?"

Suddenly, Kikyou got rather tight-lipped and Inuyasha smirked. "Oh, I see. Certain things don't apply when they're in _your _interest, but when it's _my business_, you see fit to give me all kinds of advice that only benefits _you_. Let's get something straight, Kikyou. Until I seek your advice, please, don't give it." Kikyou narrowed her eyes at him, her fists clenching.

"Fine." She hissed. "Be a fool. But even my duncical brother would be able to see that the human is just using you for her own gains."

"And _has_ he seen that?" Both of them knew quite well that Kikyou was the only one of them who thought as much, so neither was very shocked when she vanished. Inuyasha sighed. He didn't like fighting with Kikyou, especially not over something like this, but she could be so intolerable sometimes...

He settled back against the tree he'd been resting on, glanced fondly over at Kagome, and closed his eyes.

Kagome's ears, stinging with embarrassment, drooped with her sadness.

* * *

Black Ice: Ooh...trouble!

Blood Rain: I agree. For once.

* * *

Today's Rant (and Lord knows it's long overdue): The Government. 'Nuff Said.

Blood Rain: Um...wow. Where do I begin? Heh...I think I'll start with a generally unrelated anecdote about the car. When they created the car in the twenties or whatever, they thought they'd have flying cars by the eighties. They were wrong. What's peculiar is, they had planes by then: large aircraft just buzzing all over the sky. How in the hell do you get something that big to fly, but you can't even make a _car _fly?! It makes no sense!

This is my point: if the government would devote the time and money to the right thing (instead of considering "sexting" a national crisis), we wouldn't have such a fucked up economy. Now, I've been in U.S. History for some time now, and I found something out: the president really doesn't control everything! Gasp! It's all Congress! I hate to go educational on you, and I've always hated Bush, but it turns out that even though he's a bonafide idiot, he was just passing _Congress's_ laws! He can't even make laws!

Black Ice: Well, _this _is _my _point: people need to get off Obama. It's not his fault things seem to be tanking right now—it's Congress's fault. In fact, they're probably passing all these stupid-ass laws just to make him look...stupid.

* * *

Blood Rain: This rant wasn't particularly interesting, but next time, we'll have a better one.

Black Ice: Then again, the government ain't all too interesting either.

Blood Rain: Ooh! Ooh! Let's talk about these crazy people in the news next time!

Black Ice: Such as OctoMom...and that homicidal, rapist Sunday School teacher...oh, it's gonna be _fuun_.


End file.
